That's the message behind a 292 page patent application the tech giant filed in August last year, detailing "an augmented reality environment," including using the technology on an iPhone and potentially a headset as well.

Image - Apple - Patent - Feb

One image from the Apple patent, published Feb. 28.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the patent, which was published Thursday under patent number US 2019/0065027, was that Apple was exploring ways of using an augment reality headset alongside an iPhone. In the patent, Apple describes someone using a headset to view "an augmented reality environment," in which computer images are overlaid on the real world you see. And then they'd use a "touch-sensitive surface" as a way to interact with it.

Patents - Website - Patently - Apple - Signs

The patents, first discovered by the website Patently Apple, are the clearest signs yet that the iPhone maker is exploring building an AR headset, something that sources told CNET the company is hoping to release in roughly the next year. Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Apple isn't the only company working on these devices, of course. Microsoft last Sunday announced its $3,500 HoloLens 2 headset, a device the company hopes will be widely used by businesses to help employees who need to regularly refer to...